Filing cabinet module



Jan. 14, 1969 F. A. CARPENTER ETAL 3,421,301

' FILING CABINET MODULE Filed Jan. 19, 196'7 INVENTORS FREDERICK A. CARPf/VTER FOREST 6- STA R K M, A 7T0 NEYS United States Patent 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Improved means whereby any desired number of cabinet-drawer or tray modules may be interlocked so as to form a functionally integrated, single cabinet-like structure; the interlocking means being of such a nature as to permit positional rearrangements of the modules and/or additions thereto or subtractions therefrom as may be required, with improved ease and facility.

Brief summary and background of the invention The following patents are indicative of the state of the art relating to the general subject matter of this invention: 1,038,331, 1,619,761, 1,774,237, 2,227,892, 2,557,630, 2,695,026, 3,133,771.

This invention relates to filing devices, and more particularly to filing cabinet-drawer or tray combinations, for holding index cards or the like; multiples of which may be vertically stacked and added to and/or taken away from, as may be desired to accommodate changing capac ity requirements.

According to the present invention cabinet units or modules adapted to be disposed in vertically stacked arrangements are interlocked when relatively assembled by a combination of screw means and hook means adjacent opposite ends of the cabinet units, while being concealed between the modules; thus avoiding the use of any parts or devices such as would extend outwardly of the side view profiles of the composite cabinet structure. The interlocking of such superposed units provides a composite cabinet, the units of which are so locked in place that they cannot tilt when the drawers or trays are pulled out into centilever' extending attitudes therefrom.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention a composite cabinet may be readily built up from any desired number of units or modules according to use requirements; and thepositional order or number of such units may be easily changed at any time.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view showing a stack of three cabinet modules, embodying the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an upside-down view in perspective of one of the module cabinets, with the drawer or tray thereof removed;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are fragmentary vertical sectional views taken as suggested by lines 33 and 44, respectively, of FIG. 1; the illustration of FIG. 4 showing one of the cabinet trays in particularly withdrawn position; and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic side elevational view illustrating the method of modular stacking and locking interconnection.

As shown in the drawing herewith, the invention may be embodied in a plurality of self-contained cabinetdrawer or cabinet-tray units, wherein the cabinet structures are indicated generally at and the drawer or tray devices are indicated at 12. Generally speaking, this type of cabinet-tray unit, per se, has been for some time in widespread use, in connection with oflice procedures ice such as those involving the catalogue-filing of index cards, or the like. However, as shown in the accompanying drawing, in the case of the present invention each cabinet 10 comprises a top plate portion 14 formed of sheet metal or the like and having downwardly depending side wall portions 16-16 at opposite sides thereof terminating in in-turned bottom flange portions 1818 (FIG. 2). At the front end of the cabinet structure a bottom plate member 19 is provided to span the space between the bottom flanges 1818 at the front end of the struc ture; thereby leaving the front end of the cabinet structure open to accommodate in free-sliding relation the cabinet drawer or tray device as indicated generally at 12.

At the rear end of each cabinet structure a complementary bottom flange 20 is formed integrally with a rear end wall portion 22 of the cabinet structure. As illustrated at FIGS. 2, 3, 4, guide rail means are provided interiorly of each cabinet structure against the inner surfaces of the side wall portions 16-16 thereof to accommodate in free-sliding relation therein extensible suspension members 2626 which in turn accommodate in sliding relation therein the drawer or tray devices as indicated generally at 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the suspension members 2626 forwardly terminate in closed end portions 28 operating as stop devices preventing forward motion disengagements of the tray devices 12 from the suspension devices 26, as is common practice in the filing cabinet art. As indicated at 29 (FIG. 3), the marginal edge portions of the cabinet top plates 14 and of the side walls 16-16, and of the rear end flange portions 20 are preferably depressed and reverse-bent to provide double thickness marginal edge portions, the outer profiles of which are flush with the profile lines of the corresponding wall portions of the cabinet structure.

In accordance with the present invention each cabinet structure is formed at each side and adjacent its front end with a downwardly extending hook device as indicated at 30; said hook devices 30-30- being conveniently fabricated by bending down appropriately shaped portions of the bottom flange members 1818. Note that the hook devices 30-30 project forwardly, or in the direction of the cabinet openings through which the trays 12 travel. As illustrated at FIGS. 1, 3, 5, the top plates portion 14 of each cabinet structure is slotted as indicated at 32-32, whereby to accommodate in downwardly slipfitting and then forwardly hooking relation the prong devices 3030 which extend downwardly in directionally aligned relation from the cabinet unit which is to be superposed on the aforesaid cabinet unit, as illustrated diagrammatically by FIG. 5 of the drawing herewith.

Adjacent the rear end of each cabinet unit, a connection post device as indicated at 34 is disposed between the top plate 14 and the rear and bottom flange 20 of each cabinet unit as best shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 5. Each of the posts 34 includes at its bottom end 'a reduced diameter externally threaded end portion 36 which protrudes through a suitably apertured portion of the bottom flange 20. At its opposite end portion 38 each post member 34 is bored and tapped to accommodate in screwthreaded relation therein the threaded end portion 36 of the post member 34 of the cabinet unit to be stacked thereabove. The upper end of each post member 34 is surfaced so as to be flush with the top surface of its cabinet top plate portion 14, and is downwardly grooved as indicated at 40 in the drawing herewith, to provide a screw driver receiving slot.

Thus it will be appreciated that as illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 5, any number of cabinet-drawer modules as above described may, with extreme case and facility, be interconnected in vertically stacked series, or

disconnected and removed, or positionally rearranged in any new vertically stacked relationship, according to the use requirements of the equipment. To relatively assemble the modules it is only necessary to mount one module on another as illustrated at FIG. 5; the hook devices 30-30 at the front end of the upper module being first engaged in the slotted portions 32-32 of the lower module, whereupon the upper module slides forwardly on the lower module until the threaded end portion 36 of the post 34 of the upper module moves into registry with the internally threaded end portion 38 of the post 34 of the lower module. Then the interconnection of the modules may be readily completed simply by rotating ,the upper connection post member 34 as by inserting the blade of a screw driver or the edge of a coin or the like in the slotted portion 40 thereof, and then rotating the post.

Thus, the individual modules of the filing cabinet device of the present invention may be readily interconnected in firmly integrated relation, and may with equal ease and facility be disconnected and/or rearranged in any desired positional relationships by appropriate manipulations of the interconnection parts as described herein above. As indicated at 42 in the drawing herewith, rubber footings or the like may be conveniently slip-fitted into position to encompass the downwardly extending end portions 30, 36 of the hook and locking post devices 30, 34, respectively of the bottom-most module, for cushioned support of the assembly on a desk top or the like.

It is a particular feature of the present invention that the module interconnection system thereof functions automatically when a module is lowered into superposed position on another as illustrated diagrammatically at FIG. 5, to bring the interconnection parts into operative registry. This effect is attained simply by virtue of the fact that the operator will instinctively guide the upper module while being lowered so that the corresponding side and end wall portions of the modules are in vertical alignments, thereby automatically bringing the hook devices 30-30 of the upper module into vertical alignments with the slots 32-32 in the roof plate of the lower module, and the downwardly projecting portion 36 of the upper post member 34 in line with the threaded bore of the lower post member 34. This action is obtained although none of the aforementioned parts and/or the directional movements thereof are per se visible to the operator. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that, as illustrated by FIG. 5, when the hook devices 30-30 of the upper first enter the slots of the lower module they automatically operate to cam the descending module slighLly forwarded into firmly hooked relation (due to the rounded rear end contours of the hook members) while the extending end portion 36 of the upper module post 34 then automatically settles into the bore of the lower module post member. The operator then needs only to rotate the upper post member about its vertical axis as by means of a screw driver or the edge of a coin, to complete a firmly locked interconnection of the modules.

It will of course be understood that whereas only one form of the invention has been illustrated and described hereinabove by way of example, various changes may be made therein Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A filing cabinet module, pluralities of which are adapted to be interchangeably mounted in superposed rela ion to provide in combination a cabinet-like structure slidably accommodating at successive levels therein a plurality of horizontally withdrawals filing drawers or trays; said module comprising:

a rectangularly shaped casing including a top plate member having depending opposite side wall portions terminating along their bottom edges in inturned flange portions and a rear Wall portion terminating in a forwardly bent bottom flange portion,

forwardly directed hook means extending downwardly from the forward end portion of the bottom surface of said module casing,

said top plate member being slotted at its forward end portion to register in slide-hooking relation with the hook means of a similar module when being mounted in superposed relation thereon,

and a rear end connection means comprising a post-like member rotatably journalled in the rear end portion of said top plate member and said rear wall bottom flange portion and being formed with a downwardly protruding externally threaded nub in its lower end and having a complementarily bored and threaded upper end portion terminating flush with the top surface of said top plate member,

the top surface of said post member being diametrically recessed to accommodate therein a screw driver or coin edge or the like for rotating said post to lock the latter in screw threaded relation with corresponding post member of a similar module disposed therebelow.

2. A filing cabinet module as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hook means comprises a pair of book members extending downwardly from the forward end corner portions of said module casing, and wherein said top plate member includes a pair of slotted portions disposed in positional registry with said hook members.

-3. A filing cabinet module as set forth in claim 1 wherein said rear end connection means comprises a single post-like member journaled for rotation about its transverse span of the rear end portion of said top plate member.

4. A filing cabinet module as set forth in claim 2 wherein said rear end connection means comprises a single post-like member journaled for rotation about its.

vertical axis and located approximately midway of the transverse span of the rear end portion of said top plate member.

5. A filing cabinet module as set forth in claim 1 wherein the upper end portion of said post-like member is diametrically recessed to receive a screw driver blade or coin edge or the like, for manual rotation thereof.

6. A filing cabinet module as set forth in claim 3 wherein the upper end portion of said post-like member is diametrically recessed to receive a screw driver blade or coin edge or the like, for manual rotation thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,303,985 5/1919 Straubel 312-107 XR 1,698,578 1/ 1929 Bergmann 312-107 1,726,121 8/1929 Polkosnik 312-107 2,268,236 12/1941 Baird 312-111 XR 2,733,112 1/1956 Dunhan 312-111 3,000,680 9/1961 Zelenko 312-111 3,003,839 10/1961 Bloom et la. 312-111 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,077,258 7/1967 Great Britain. 1,235,845 5/ 1960 France.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

J. L. KOHNEN, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,421,801 January 14, 1969 Frederick A. Carpenter et a1.

It is certified that error appears in the above identified tent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as pa shown below:

Column 1, line 45, "centilever should read cantilever line 61, "particularly should read partially Column 3, line 53, "forwarded" should read forwardly line 72, "withdrawals" should read Column 4, line 35, after "its insert vertical axis withdrawable and located approximately midway of the Signed and sealed this 17th day of March 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Edward M. Fletcher, J 1-. Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

